Comparison of Interfacility Transfer of Critically Ill Pediatric Patients by Helicopter Versus Ground Ambulance in a Remote and Rural Domain

Objective

Since 2018, Thailand's helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) has been used to transport critically ill pediatric patients from Tak Province's community hospitals to the tertiary care hospital. This article describes a pilot study to look at the feasibility of comparing mortality rates and complications during transport.

Methods

This retrospective pilot study used data from the medical records of the referring and receiving hospitals. Participants were critically ill patients under 18 years of age who were transferred between facilities using HEMS or ground emergency medical services (GEMS) between January 2018 and December 2022. HEMS transported 9 patients, whereas GEMS transported 52.

Results

The predominant age group was newborns. Respiratory-related conditions were the most common diagnoses. The majority of patients underwent intubation and displayed abnormal respiratory rates and levels of consciousness before flight. Approximately one third were hypotensive or required vasoactive drugs. Cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation was the most common significant complication during transport in the HEMS group (22.2%). Meanwhile, changing hospital destination because of an unstable patient condition was the most common complication during transport in the GEMS group (3.9%). Hypotension was the most common complication upon arrival at the receiving hospital in both groups (25% versus 8%). HEMS demonstrated shorter transport times.

Conclusion

HEMS reduced transport times compared with GEMS. However, there was a higher incidence of cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation during transfer and hypotension upon arrival.